Automatically-operated musical instrument.



J. W. CROOKS. AUTOMATICALLY OPERATED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION FILED 0014, 1911 Patented Nov. 12, 1912.

ff Kw/Z 972???" iii.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES cnooxs, or rELH AMwoon, new YORK, assrenoa or ONE-HALF '10 WINCHESTER vnazm, or BABN'STABLE, MASSACHUSETTS.

AUTOMATICALLY-OPERATED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

1,044,027. I Specification of Lett'rslatent. I t t d 12, 9 Application filed October-'4, 1911. serial No. 652,788.

pair may be operated by meansof an adjustable actuator a which is the main feature of the new device, there being an actuator a for. each pair of valvesx Each actuator a is operated by a pneumatic b connect- '6 ed by a pipe or passage 0 with a chamber (1 controlled by a valve 6 that-is operated by a primary pneumatic, f connected by a main passage 9 with one of the main ports of the tracker board It, the latter having the staggered arrangement of two sets of perforations which conduces to economy of space; There is an actuator a, pneumatic b, passage 0, chamber d, valve 6, primary pneumatic f and a main passage 9 for each pair of notes I of the instrument. When pneumatic f is operated it opens chamber at to a chamber 2' which is connected with the wind box j by suitable pipes. Whenever valve 6 is raised air under pressure flows from 2' into 7) '75 through passage 0 and moves actuator a bodily endwise, causing it to lift one or the otherof the two valves 71 with which it cooperates, thus sounding the note of. that valve. The actuator a is caused "to selec tively operate one of its pair of valves 71 by means ofa supplemental pneumatic, 1 connected by a pipe m with 'a'chamber 0 that is controlled by a valve p which in turn is operated by a primary pneumatic gfconnected by a pipe '2" with a supplemental tracker board port n. Normally chamber, 0

is open to the atmosphere and a spring 8 holds actuator a in position to cooperate with. one of its pair of valves 71.

X X represent any suitable vents.

The music sheet is to be constructed like the music sheet of said Crooks patent ex cept that it is suitably perforatedat g to cooperate with" the staggered double tracker board and except that it has additional-perforations n to cooperate withthe supplemental tracker board ports M. and whenever one of these perforations uncovers a supplemental'port n, air under pressure flows from the tracker board box which is connected with wind box j through pipe r'into primary pneumatic g which lifts valve 2) so as .to close chamber 0 to the atmosphere and open. it towindboxj. Air under pressure now flows from 9' through o and m ,into neumatio l 'which shifts actuator a over into position to cooperate with the opposite valve 71. 4 Immediately thereafter one of the ma'in'perforations in the music sheet opens,

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, J AMns W. CRooKs of Pelhamwood, in the county of Westchester and State of New York, have invented a 5 new and useful Automatically-Operated Musical Instrument, of which the following is a specification.

Heretofore in automatic musical instruments it has been possible to. play only two, 10 independent parts and the main object of my invention is to provide an instrument which will. have greater scope in this respect than heretofore and my invention consists primarily in providing mechanism for 15 playing four or more independent parts, a feature of the invention being a single pneumatic for opening any one of two or more operating valves each independently of the remainder. Other features will be pointed 20 out below.

In the drawing I have shown my invention diagrammatically asapplied to an instrument of the type disclosed in my Patent No. 671,691, issued April 9, 1901. 2 Figure l is a diagrammatic view, partly in section, of an instrument embodying my invention; and Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view of the music sheet.

At one side of the keyboard A are the 0 first manual stops A and the second manual stops A while at the other side are the third manual stops A and the fourth manual stops A although this particula'rarrangement of the several manuals is not essential. 35 My present instrument has twice as many controllers or valves 71 as the instrument of said patent, the valve for one note-sounding device of the first manual being paired with the similar note for the second manual and 40'the valve of one note of the third manual being paired with the similar note of the fourth manual. The pneumatics for the first and second manuals run clear across the instrument and 46 in front of the pneumatics for the third and fourth manuals and the pneumatics for the third and fourth manuals also run clear across the instrument but I have not considered it necessary to indicate all of the 50 pneumatics in the drawing. The third and ourth manuals also preferably extend higher'than, and over the top of-,the first and second manuals, although in the drawing they have'been shown diagrammatically 55 as nearly side by side. Either valve of each manuals A and A the pipe '9 to the 'wind box inclosing the tracker board it, which causes the pneumatic b to forceaotuator a endWise and cause it to operate the valve 7l'to sound the note selected. In this Way each actuatoro s operated and controlled to selectively control and operate either of its pair of valves 71 independently of the other.

By the construction described, and with a properly perforated music sheet, any note of any oneof the four manuals A A, A or A may be independently sounded so that it is possible to play four parts upon my instrument instead of only two parts as heretofore. It Will also be seen that the are paired and the manuals A and A are paired, so that any two corresponding notes of either pair of manuals may-be simultaneously sounded. It will also be clear that the manuals may be coupled as desired and that all four may be coupled as one.

My invention is applicable to both pipe organs "and reed organs, as Well as to other musical instruments as will be clear to those skilled in this art. I do not claim the above described music sheet as such in this application as I intend to make it the subject of another application.

What I claim is:

1. An automatically-operated musical instrument comprising a plurality of valves adapted to control note-sounding devices;

and a single actuator for operating any one of said valves independently of the remainder and pneumatic means for operating the actuator.

tuator 1n 2. An automatically-operated musical instrument comprising a plurality of controllers adapted to control note-sounding devices; an actuator normally in position to operate one of said controllers; means to shift the actuator into position to operate -ma1nder; means to shift the actuator into position to operate the desired controller; and a single pneumatic to operate the ac- Whatever position the latter may be.

.5. In a. musical instrument a selector; a plurality of means through Which the selector controls the action of the instrument; and pneumatic means for operating the selector to selectively actuate the controlling means.

JAMES W. CROOKS. Witnesses:

R. P. CRooKs, THos. J. JAMES.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. G. a 

